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Healthy Homes at Bob's School

As a part of the "Promoting Healthy Homes in Syracuse" USEPA grant, the Partnership, Syracuse United Neighbors, L& M Training Center, and Onondaga Environmental Institute* raises public awareness about the risks to healthy homes. Exposure to lead paint, mold, pests, radon, and asbestos can make our families and homes sick. Additionally, inefficient energy use can be wasteful and costly.

This April,we visited the Refugee Assistance Center, commonly referred to as Bob's School, to educate students about unhealthy homes. Bob's School, located in Syracuse's North side, helps refugees from around the world acclimate to life in the United States. The language barriers posed a unique and exciting challenge for educators.

To overcome these barriers and better engage students, we presented information as a "Show and Tell." Pictures of peeling lead paint, mold on walls, cockroaches, radon maps, and asbestos piping coupled with prop demonstrations helped students easily identify the elements that make a home unhealthy.We worked alongside translators from Bob's School who were able to relay our message to students who were less proficient in English. During the event, the Healthy Homes brochure, which includes quick tips and resources, was distributed to every student. And L&M Training had students sign up for the jobs training course offered through the grant.

We were very impressd and would like to thank all the students and teachers at Bob's School for their participation and willingness to engage as we continue to promote healthy homes in Syracuse!

Latest Update

The Partnership for Onondaga Creek (POC) and Onondaga Earth Corps (OEC) are pleased to announce the award of $49,967 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to their joint project called “Growing Syracuse’s Next Generation of Environmental Justice Leaders”. Out of 123 state applicants, the POC/OEC project is the sole winner for the Central New York region. The award will be administered by the groups’ fiscal sponsor, the Onondaga Environmental Institute.

“OEI is pleased to serve as the fiscal sponsor on this project,” stated Onondaga Environmental Institute President Edward Michalenko. “The project’s goals to empower youth to be active participants in creating positive change for their communities and the environment aligns nicely with OEI's mission to advance environmental research, education, planning and restoration in Central New York. Amy Samuels, OEI’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, is excited to provide youth technical training and mentoring.”